Why can't a car company....

[xaeniac]

Why can't a car company make a good looking car like gti\a4 and add the attribute of reliability?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Both of those cars are made by Audi. This is like asking why Mexico doesn't have any great ski resorts.

You should know better than to ask this question.

 

[fralexandr]

because looks are arbitrary and visual appeal changes over time?

some cars I find attractive and are pretty reliable
s2000
civic (some of the hatches)
CR-Z
miata/mx-5
g35 (sedan; for some reason the coupes look funny)
celica (dunno why, but I like how they look)
MR2

I don't like how the nsx looks, but many people do. It's supposed to be a pretty reliable "super car"

 

[GregGreen]

Why can't a car company make a good looking car like gti\a4 and add the attribute of reliability?

Volkswagen does make a car like that, the GTI. I think Audi makes one too called the A4.

 

[Crono]

I find most German cars to be average looking at best. I think people tend to ascribe more to the looks because of the performance and fall in love with the brands. If you take the badge out of the equation, most Volkswagen and Audi models don't look better than even significantly cheaper models from Mazda, Kia, Ford, Hyundai, etc. Subaru/Toyota's BRZ/FR-S looks better than anything from Mercedes, BMW, or Audi, putting aside fancier trim or >$100,000 supercars. The A4 is by no means ugly, but it doesn't look unique or particularly beautiful to me. And Hyundai's Veloster looks better than the GTI, in my opinion, but I'll grant that it's a bit unusual and subjective... but the GTI doesn't look better than most of the other hatches from its competitors, either.

Audi's reliability has gone up the past few years, though... possibly better in that regard than the brands I've named.

EDIT: I'll give a pass to Porsche, though, because they basically have one evolutionary design (and it's a good one). Otherwise I'm much more a fan of British (Lotus, Aston Martin, Jaguar, and McLaren) and Italian (Ferrari, Maserati, and to a lesser degree Lamborghini and Alfa Romeo) car design, as well as a few American car models (mostly muscle cars and of course the Corvette) than German cars of any price.

 

[waffleironhead]

I dont think Ive ever thought the gti or A4 were anything special to look at. In other words, taste varies from person to person.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I dont think Ive ever thought the gti or A4 were anything special to look at. In other words, taste varies from person to person.

This.

Many of the cars listed in this thread already I find anywhere from meh to no way. CR-Z for example, no thanks. Civic? Not bad I guess, but boring. GTI isn't bad. G35 is OK I guess but not for me, just looks like an Altima.

 

[Brian Stirling]

I find most German cars to be average looking at best. I think people tend to ascribe more to the looks because of the performance and fall in love with the brands. If you take the badge out of the equation, most Volkswagen and Audi models don't look better than even significantly cheaper models from Mazda, Kia, Ford, Hyundai, etc. Subaru/Toyota's BRZ/FR-S looks better than anything from Mercedes, BMW, or Audi, putting aside fancier trim or >$100,000 supercars. The A4 is by no means ugly, but it doesn't look unique or particularly beautiful to me. And Hyundai's Veloster looks better than the GTI, in my opinion, but I'll grant that it's a bit unusual and subjective... but the GTI doesn't look better than most of the other hatches from its competitors, either.

Audi's reliability has gone up the past few years, though... possibly better in that regard than the brands I've named.

EDIT: I'll give a pass to Porsche, though, because they basically have one evolutionary design (and it's a good one). Otherwise I'm much more a fan of British (Lotus, Aston Martin, Jaguar, and McLaren) and Italian (Ferrari, Maserati, and to a lesser degree Lamborghini and Alfa Romeo) car design, as well as a few American car models (mostly muscle cars and of course the Corvette) than German cars of any price.

Agree, 100%!

The thing is no two people are going to agree completely on anything let alone car preferences. I'd love to have the disposable income to be able to purchase a Ferrari but that's not going to happen in this lifetime so that leaves me to chose from the cars average people can buy.

I've owned mostly 4 cylinder sport compacts over the years and currently have a 2012 Ford Focus Titanium hatch back that I love. No it's not going to challenge a full on sports car but as the only car I own it's capable of hauling most of the items I need to haul while still getting an average of over 38mpg and having pretty decent handling.


Brian